The smarter home: How to cut the cord with a smart TV

Have you heard about cutting the cord? It’s a way to replace cable television that has grown in popularity as more people are upgrading to Smart TVs and video streaming devices. Renting equipment from cable service providers can be costly, and for many cutting the cord can also cut the bill. If you’re on the fence here are a few tips to get you started and most importantly home network security best practices to consider. Smart TVs are making headlines for faulty security and privacy risks. So when you cut the cord, stream smarter and more secure. Here’s how:

As hot new gadgets make our homes smarter, they’re also making them more vulnerable.

With more of our devices connecting to the Internet – smart TVs,
webcams, gaming consoles, thermostats – it’s crucial to have a good
defense plan for your home network.Help protect all of your personal devices connected to your home
network, not just your laptop or desktop computer, with Norton Core.

Smart TVs make it easier than ever to cut the cord. That’s because they come with native apps that make cutting cable basically seamless. Whether it’s a branded app for a streaming service like Netflix or YouTube, it is easy to watch digital-first programming from your Smart TV. No more watching your favorite shows on the small screen of a laptop. With most Smart TVs you can also browse the web.

Step Two: Streaming Services

Streaming services are key to cutting the cord. Almost everyone who is cutting the cord is using at least one major streaming service like Amazon Prime, Netflix or Hulu. On top of that, there are more specialized streaming services like those offered by sports networks or premium subscription cable channels.

Step Three: A Cord Cutting Device

You might be familiar with video streaming devices like Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV or Roku. These are devices that make it easier to cut the cord by delivering media to your television, no Smart TV required. These devices often come with a wide array of free apps and video content that you can download or stream. Out of the box setup is usually as easy as simply connecting to your home network, plug, and play.

The key to keeping your home network safe is your router. For starters, always change the default password when you setup a new router out of the box. Keeping the default password can leave your home network exposed to hacking. Cybercriminals often have access to hardware password defaults, and can hack into a device with little effort.

Keep your Smart TV and streaming device software and apps updated. One of the main ways that hackers breach your system is by using known exploits in software. Updates patch these exploits.

A full-service Internet security suite will help you stay protected on the devices connected to your home network. Norton Security can help you cut the cord with peace of mind.

Look into getting a more secure router. Using your own router can help you beef up your network security as well as cut down on costs on your Internet bill. Most Internet service providers provide the equipment to you for a small monthly fee.

Over the past year at Norton, we've been keeping a close eye on the Internet of things threat landscape. We are seeing that IoT devices are now being attacked on an average of every two minutes. As a result, we're proud to announce the brand new Norton Core router.

Cutting the cord can save you hundreds of dollars a month. It might cost a little bit to get you up and running, but once you are, you’ll be glad that you did.

689 million people across 21 countries were the victims of cybercrime last year. Is your smart home leaving the door open?

Enter Norton Core - a new approach to home security. It revolutionizes online security by helping to protect your entire home network, not just specific devices.Help protect your Wi-Fi network and the personal devices connected to that network, including all of your IoT devices..

Symantec Corporation, the world’s leading cyber security company, allows organizations, governments, and people to secure their most important data wherever it lives. More than 50 million people and families rely on Symantec’s Norton and LifeLock comprehensive digital safety platform to help protect their personal information, devices, home networks, and identities.